User blog:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 1: Hirai Norio (Cfp) v William Vigiles (Alock)
Thanks to Appel for making title cards when I was too lazy to do so. Hirai Norio: The Wandering Ronin who seeks to curtail the excesses of his kind versus Willium Vigiles: The city guard who seeks a hot meal, some ale, and to not die Hirai Norio (Cfp) Bio Known as the Wandering Ronin, Hirai Norio is a masterless samurai roaming the countryside of Japan. Trained from birth as a fearless and just warrior, Hirai faithfully served his master for a decade. After his master was killed during one of many feuds between samurai clans, Hirai was forced to exile as a ronin. The origins of the feud has escaped Hirai's memory, but he does know he refuses the fall to the base levels of his fellow ronin. When Hirai's master and his clan were under siege, Hirai became the master's personal bodyguard. As the advancing army slowly moved further into the sanctuary, Hirai and his master were cornered in temple. Although heavily outnumbered, Hirai's swordsmanship granted enough time for reinforcements to arrive and route the attackers. That night, ninjas stealthily entered the dojo where Hirai and his charge were entrenched. With a swift cut, the master was killed before Hirai could protect him. Without a master, Hirai was ashamed- left abandoned by his samurai comrades. Just before he could commit seppuku in isolation, he witnessed a robbing by fellow ronin. Unwilling to just stand by and let them take an innocent's life, Hirai took his sword and defended the peasant. Realizing his new calling, Hirai choose to live not in disgrace or die by his own sword, but use his masterless status to protect those that could not protect themselves. He had become The Wandering Ronin- a hero to some and a bane to others. Initial Weaponset (Short Range) The Exiled's Companion- Hirai's iconic katana blade. With a tamagahane single-edged tempered curved blade approximately 2 and a half feet, weighing 2 and a half pounds, the Exiled's Companion has a circular hilt guard. The hilt itself is a traditional wood, but is wrapped in leather rather than the typical cloth to ensure a better grip. Hirai's fighting style with this blade relies on swift, short cuts rather than larger sweeping arcs typical of those with his training. Other Weapons & Armor |-| Mid Range = Kanabo- A 4-feet, 15 pound oak club with steel studs. |-| Long Range = Broken Oath- Hirai's yumi bow, with simple steel arrows. Hirai, as is custom with samurai, is competently skilled with his bow |-| Special = The Twins- Dual short wakizashi blades Hirai utilizes to allow him to pressure his opppnents wielding pole arms by utilizing his left sword to deflect attacks and his right sword to close the distance. The blades are typical wakizashi blades; One and a half feet steel single-edged blades. |-| Armor = Dō-maru armor set- A set of steel and leather armor. The chestpiece consists of scales of steel, laced together into plates then lacquered. These plates are then laced together to form a solid steel cuirass over Hirai's vital organs. Due to the weight of the steel (10 lbs), the rest of Hirai's armor is simple thigh and shoulder guards of leather. William Vigiles (Alock) Bio Age: 26 Occupation: City Guard William Vigiles is a City Guard, like his father before him, and his father before him, and his uncle before him - great-grandfather was a criminal. Surrounded by this respect for the Law, it was only Natural for William it become a member of the City Watch. He patrols his city, which is surrounded by a high, and wide, wall. Mainly, he catches would-be thieves, and other such criminals. He has been involved in riots, mainly trying to keep the peace, but every so often, someone needs their head smacked. He has also been involved in protecting the city from invaders. On one occasion, while trying to get to the main gate, which was being attacked by a battering ram, he came across a group of invaders who had used ropes with grappling hooks to climb up the wall, and he was forced to fight them, all by himself. He managed to kill 10 of the invaders before help arrived, from others trying to get to the battering ram, and the sneaky invaders were killed, or driven off. William, along with the rest of these men, were given some gold for protecting the city. William is married, with a wife of five years, a 4 year old son, 2 year old daughter, and one on the way. These are William's main reasons for doing his job; he wants his son to have something to look forward to. William doesn't aspire for fame or promotions, although those would be nice. In short, he just wants to do his job, nothing more, nothing less. While William has earned a good reputation for his actions, some gold, and some small rewards, he only seeks to do his job of protecting the city in the ways he can, and hopes to raise his son to follow in the long line of Vigiles, who have all served as City Guards, one way or another, often without recognition by their superiors and betters. William is not a cold-blooded killer, generally preferring to subdue his foes, he will kill if he has to. His primary concern is making it through the day. If he decides to let the other fighters kill the rest before getting involved himself, defending himself as necessary, he will. If someone tries to kill him, he will fight back, and kill them if need be. All he wants is to return home to his family, if fate allows him. Initial Weaponset (Short Range) Oak truncheon - 2 feet in length, mainly used for subduing criminals, the hope being that the blows won't be fatal. Usually the blow knocks the victim out. After all, it doesn't do the cheat the hangman of his due, if that is necessary, nor would it be wise to kill a son of a noble who was getting too friendly with a woman. Other Weapons & Armor |-| Mid Range = Longsword - 4 feet in length, requiring two hands to use. Mainly used if criminals don't want to be taken alive, and pose a serious danger. |-| Long Range = Crossbow - Good up to 200 yards, generally used as shorter distances. Can, potentially, pierce most armors. Has 20 bolts in a quiver. |-| Special = Dagger - Sometimes you need a short knife. 6 inch handle, 12 inch blade. Used when the distance is too close for a sword, and the foe is too dangerous to just knock out. |-| Armor = Iron Breastplate and Iron Backplate, followed by chain mail Shirt and mail leggings, followed by Leather shirt and leather leggings. Helmet is similar to Spanish Morion, iron, with faceplate and cheekguards. Also, there is a metal groin protector, to protect the reproductive organs, so that there can be future Vigiles having the chance of being born. Weight, about 120 pounds total. Notes Battle Notes *Arena is a 20m diameter circle, grassy soil footing, no cover *All warriors will start out with their Initial Weaponset equipped, along with their armor. **Their other weapons are placed sheathed/unloaded/unset/etc. next to their point of entry into the arena. *The match is to the death. Voting Notes *Votes with good edges or at least 10 relevant sentences count as a full vote *Votes with meh edges or at least 5 relevant sentences count as a half vote *All others count as no vote *Well-reasoned rebuttals can lower the count of a vote by half. *Well-reasoned counter-rebuttals can restore the half-point. *The users whose characters are fighting may not vote for or against themselves, but may defend their warriors by giving rebuttals and counter-rebuttals *I have the final say in how much a vote counts for. If I feel a vote merits counting differently than these guidelines, I will do so. *Voting ends at some point on 5/25/2016. Battle Hirai Norio walked through a tunnel, resting his hand on The Exiled’s Companion, sheathed at his waist. By his side was what appeared to be a human, though wrapped from head to toe in red robes, with a green mask obscuring its face. “So I go in, I kill whoever’s facing me, and you give me coin?” Norio asked, a slight twinge of disgust entering his voice. “Yes,” The robed figure said, sounding male. “While vigilante justice is romantic, you can’t eat gratitude.” The figure then stepped into a small side hallway, motioning for Hirai to continue onwards without him. The rōnin continued walking straight ahead, and eventually stepped through a stone arch and stopped in surprise. There was soil under his feet, and grass. Casting about, he saw the green of the grass stained in places with the blackish red of dried blood. He also seaw his kanebo lying in the grass to his left, The Twins sheathed on his right, and Broken Oath, a bowstring, and a full quiver leaning against the wall behind him. Wall? Wasn’t that just a… “Ladies and Gentlemen,” A voice said, cutting off his train of thought, “Welcome to the first round of the tournament.” Norio looked up and saw another red-robed figure with a differently-shaped green mask speaking into a contraption. “First up, we have Hirai Norio, a rōnin sponsored by Cfp, fighting Willium Vigiles, a city guard sponsored by Alock.” Norio turned his gaze back to the arena and, sure enough, there was a plain, forgettable man wearing plate, chain, leather, and a helmet holding what looked like a wooden club. Willium Vigiles held his club in front of him, looking warily at the tall, dark-haired stranger on the other side of the arena. Taking mental note of the longsword – sheathed and stabbed upright into the ground – on his right, the dagger lying in the grass on his left, and the unloaded crossbow leaning against the wall behind him, he took a few tentative steps forward as the voice rang out again: “Ready…. Fight!” Norio advanced slowly, drawing his blade as he walked. He pointed his blade downward to the knees of his foe, angling it slightly to the left and taking the modified gedan-gamae his master had taught him. As soon as he got within striking distance he launched into an attack, sweeping left and right at the thighs and a quick switch to chūdan-gamae for a swift chop to the head. He parried a ponderous swing of the truncheon, and a swift flick of the wrist moved into a shoulder blow. As Vigiles recovers, Norio slid low around him and delivered a slice to the hamstrings, swiftly stood and delivered an overhead chop, which was deflected off the helmet. He retreated a couple steps as his opponent rose, examining the strikes he had made. Vigiles groaned as he regained his footing and turned to look at his foe. He took a step forward and grimaced behind his faceplate; the blows hadn’t penetrated his armor, but they still stung. He winced as he moved forward and swung his truncheon again, aiming at his foe’s legs this time. He followed his training, going for the limbs to disable an armed opponent. As the samurai batted each strike away, he couldn’t help but get the feeling he was being toyed with. Gone was the immense speed at which his foe had first moved; where Vigiles had initially struggled to follow the swish of the man’s ponytail, Norio seemed to have more openings and slower movement. As Vigiles swung back for a strike to the head, however, his foe put on a burst of speed. Norio quickly sliced towards the unprotected neck of the guard, only to strike the mailled fist his foe brought up to protect himself. Sliding the blade across the metal, he once again maneuvered himself behind his foe and launched a stab at the back of Vigiles’ neck. The guard, however, put on an adrenaline-fueled display of agility as he ducked under the stab, turned around, and slammed his truncheon into the samurai, just under the ribcage. Vigiles straightened and prepared to deliver a few more strikes to his winded foe, only to see Norio already several paces away and uninjured. Norio breathed out, his armor having absorbed the blow almost completely, and charged back in, swinging. Norio forced Vigiles on the defensive, aiming cut after cut towards the guard. The samurai allowed himself a thin smile; his foe’s only strength was his armor. As their mysterious announcer said, their foe was an average city guard. In contrast to Norio’s swift, economic wrist movements, Vigiles moved his whole arm in each swing, telegraphing his movements and wasting his energy. There was only one way this could end; the only question was when. Vigiles quickly felt himself beginning to tire. His truncheon, never much effective against his opponent, started moving slower and slower with each swing. He blinked the perspiration out of his eyes, and remembered the crossbow behind him. That should penetrate without tiring me any more, he thought, and resigned himself to having to kill his foe. He threw the truncheon at Norio’s face, and the samurai bats it aside with a quick motion of his katana. The blow was the final straw for the wooden weapon, which shattered. Norio instinctively flinched away from the oncoming shower of splinters, which gave Vigiles an opening to ram a palm into Norio’s shoulder. The additional force brought by about 300 pounds of armor and man amplified Norio’s backwards momentum, knocking him flat on his back. As his foe struggled to right himself, Vigiles lumbered laboriously towards where his crossbow lay. Norio pulled himself to his feet, using his katana as an anchor. He winced at the pain in his right shoulder and looks towards his foe, who has fitted a crank to his crossbow and started to pull the string back. He charged Vigiles, who noticed and dropped his crossbow. Vigiles groped for his longsword, keeping his eyes on his charging foe while he fumbled for the grip. He grabbed it as Norio launched into a stab, and started to draw as he saw Norio coming up short. Norio turns to the side and takes a step forward with his left foot, letting go of his katana with his right hand while turning it parallel to the ground and extending further. This gives him enough extra reach to pierce through Vigiles’ faceguard, slicing deep into the man’s skull. In one swift motion, Norio takes a half-step with his right foot, places his right hand back onto the hilt of the Exiled’s Companion, turns it and slices diagonally through Vigiles’ face and out his neck. Norio does a quick flick of the blade to clean the blood off, and bows to his dying opponent and the audience. He turns and walks back the way he came, seeing that the doorway had returned. He steps into the tunnel and spares a glance back at the arena, seeing one of the red-robed figures unceremoniously dragging Vigiles through the other doorway. Weapon Stats Category:Blog posts